8 Jul
2011
8 Jul
'11
3:42 p.m.
On Fri, 8 Jul 2011, Richard wrote:
Right. However, paying attention to ebay gives you an
understanding of
what the current market prices are for various things. I've spent enough
time looking at terminals that I believe I can state estimated values for
those kinds of things. I can also tell you what's offered for sale
commonly and what's offered for sale occasionally.
Which is a large part, but NOT the entire issue, for assigning value to
donations!
For instance, suppose I bought a classic muscle car
for $1 from someone
who just wanted it out of their sight and didn't care about its value.
Does this mean its appraised value for donation purposes is $1? No.
Actually, . .
.
Its market value is what people typically pay for such
an item in its
condition. There's also the question of whether or not you claim the
current market value for something or its original purchase price in
current dollars. That's something you'd need to ask a tax accountant
or tax attorney about and is separate from the question of what is its
fair market value today.
Another reason to ALSO need tax expertise!
It usta be, maybe or maybe not STILL, that if you bought something and
then donated it to a 501C3, that it would be valued at WHAT YOU PAID FOR
IT (such as your $1 muscle car, which is just what most non-profits
REALLY need), unless you had had it for over one year!
IF you had had it for over one year, THEN it would be valued at "fair
market value".
If you charge $100 per hour to do work in your field of expertise, and you
decide to do 8 hours of such work for a non-profit, . . .
Do you KNOW what amount your tax deduction would be?
Now go back and read carefully. I did NOT say what it "OUGHTA" be!
When it comes to counter-examples, I am well aware that many people have
put down numbers that were WRONG, inaccurate, not in compliance with the
details of the codes, or just plain BULLSHIT, and nevertheless, the IRS
may have failed to notice, ignored, or individual IRS staff being
incompetent or just not given a shit about the error. So, "I did that",
and even "I did that, and it survived an audit" don't mean shit when it
comes to IRS codes.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com